New Kit Installed... But no worky?

[Ken McNeill]

I just fitted my bike with an EM3ev Kit with the Mac 500/1000W Rear Gear Hub (12T), 12 fet 40a Motor Controller, and a 50v (Samsung 25R) 12.3ah Li Ion BMS. I also purchased a Cycle Analyst V2.3 with Speedo Cable.

It worked briefly for 100 yards or so, but now, I get nothing. The BMS has 58.0V after charging. Triple checked all connections. EM3ev built everything with connectors, so hard to goof it up. There were NO sparks, bangs, noises, or smells that would indicate some sort of failure. Power switches on fine, CA display lights up and programs great. Just no power to the rear hub?

My first thought is motor controller, but what's the best way to definitively test or troubleshoot. What is the best way to check for MC output voltages?

Thoughts?

Ken

 

[sonnetg]

Try process of elimination. do you have a spare controller? if so, test the motor. A volt meter would be very helpful to make sure your throttle, hall sensors and phase wires have proper connections. Is it powered on? Coluld be a faulty kill switch? Do you have any brake switch installed?

 

[melodious]

triple check wires for any disconnections. Some of the smaller wires can easily become loose or cut, especially through the years of usage. easily remedied with a soldering iron or jet lighter :wink: .

 

[999zip999]

Loose plug connection or pins may have back out of connector.
Where do you live ?
The ez way is a e- bike tester for 16.00 usd.
I wish I could link it for you.
Unplug ebrakes
Does C.A. light up
Unplug C.A.
Did you hook up two pin red wire to light switch for off and on ?
You have multi meter ?

 

[slowhands]

Troubleshooting is tedious You have to be patient and methodical. When something is not working, take nothing for granted. In particular, do not assume the cables built by em3ev are correct. Sometimes a wire is poorly crimped and falls loose, or simply backs out of a connector. Sometimes a fragile wire breaks. You have to painstakingly check every wire with a meter for correct connection, for making good contact, and to have sound insulation.

Label all your wires so you don't have to do this twice. Document the steps you take because otherwise you will go in circles. Check the throttle and brake wiring, and the PAS wiring. If you modified anything, say bypassing a shunt or installing the CA, then double check for solder splash or mistakes in that area of rework. It is good if someone else who did not do the wiring can double check it, so your assumptions don't get in the way. Another set of eyes may see something that you overlook. It could be a blown fuse or protective device. It could be the BMS or controller detecting overcurrent and shutting down. So check protective devices.

There is an inexpensive tester for controller and motor, which I have not tried. That may help if it's one or the other. Lacking that, you can swap in known good replacements for controller and motor.

 

[Ken McNeill]

Thanks for your responses. Once I finally got some diagrams with pin out voltages, I quickly discovered the motor controller +5vdc reference voltage for the throttle sensor and hall sensors was only putting out +.5vdc. That's not going to work very well.

I'm not certain how the 5vdc low voltage regulator circuit got damaged. All connectors were properly connected before the battery was even connected. Worked for about ten minutes... Then shutdown. I checked every wire in the system for shorts to ground. It's not like this circuit should ever get stressed. Everything checks good. New controller will be here soon. I'll connect only critical wires on the power-up (throttle and hall sensors) and immediately check for any voltage drop of the 5v.

I did order the tester for the tool box. I'll use it too, before installing the new MC.

 

[slowhands]

That +5v power regulator is typically bulletproof. It has overcurrent protection built in and this circuit has essentially no load on it anyway. Is its output shorted to ground, or are the wires for signal and power reversed? Check carefully.

 

[Ken McNeill]

I agree. EM3ev is replacing it. I'll install the new one step at a time monitoring the 5vdc circuit with my VOM.